


and there is pansies, that's for thoughts

by ignipes



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-08
Updated: 2009-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-03 01:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ignipes/pseuds/ignipes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"All three of them? Really?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	and there is pansies, that's for thoughts

The prince of Camelot was sulking.

"I am _not_ sulking," said Arthur, scowling.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Fine. You're brooding in a noble and princely manner."

"That's right." Arthur started to nod, then quickly changed his mind. "I am _not_ brooding."

"I don't know what you're so upset about," said Morgana. She settled herself into a chair and arranged her skirts daintily. "It's my handmaiden that wretched upstart is intent upon despoiling."

Arthur snorted. "If you believe that, you're blinder than the old cook who caught scarlet fever last winter."

Morgana lifted her chin haughtily. "You shouldn't make jokes about peasants falling ill."

Arthur pretended to be abashed. "Very well. But that doesn't change the fact of your inability to see scandalous liaisons when they're right before your eyes."

"If we concerned ourselves with stopping every scandalous liaison between your knights and the castle's servants, we would be overwhelmed by romantic entanglements within a day," said Morgana. She toyed with the ends of her hair and hoped she sounded unconcerned when she said, "If Gwen wants to spend her time with that _person_, she is allowed, as long as it doesn't interfere with her duties."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Wait. What are we talking about?"

"Gwen," said Morgana slowly, as though to a very thick child, "and Lancelot, and the scandalous liaisons thereof. What did you think we were talking about?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed even further. "I don't think Gwen is the one Lancelot is intent upon despoiling."

Morgana laughed. "Oh, don't be silly. Of course he is. Just a bit ago I saw them walking into the forest together and it would have been quite sweet if that servant of yours weren't tagging along like a..." She trailed off and frowned.

"Just now? In the forest?" Arthur sat upright suddenly, and for a moment Morgana was certain he was going to leap to his feet and race out of the castle after them. But instead he slumped back sulkily and muttered, "I don't know why I'm surprised. Merlin is completely useless. I've never known a servant so bad at handling my sword."

Morgana snickered, but covered it up quickly with a delicate cough. "Yes, it's obvious he's a terrible burden to you," she said. "It was particularly obvious in the way you raced off against your father's direct orders to pluck a flower from a faraway cave for him, only to be thrown in the dungeon up upon your return."

"I would have done the same for any man who saved my life at great risk to his own," said Arthur, in a superior tone eerily similar to his father's. "It was no great thing."

Morgana chose not to remind Arthur that the knights of Camelot often saved his life at great risk to their own, but as far as she was aware Arthur had never picked flowers for them as a reward.

Before she could say anything, Arthur made a face like a sow who'd try to eat a shoe and said, "They were really going into the forest? All three of them together?"

"Yes," Morgana sighed.

"Why? What could they be doing?"

Morgana stared at him. Arthur could be a bit dim - too many times being knocked about the head, she suspected - but surely she didn't have to explain to the prince himself what men and women might find to occupy themselves in the forest on a warm, sunny day.

Arthur saw her look and said, "All three of them? Really?"

Morgana nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so."

"I see."

There was a brief silence as they both imagined the possibilities.

"I don't think I like that Lancelot fellow very much," Arthur said finally.

"He is very forward," Morgana agreed.

"And improper," Arthur said.

Morgana nodded. "Quite. Gwen is only a girl, after all-"

"And Merlin is a simple country boy."

"He's taking advantage of them, clearly."

Arthur stood up so quickly his chair rocked back on two legs. "I will not have a knight a Camelot behaving so badly."

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do?"

Arthur grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "I'm going to rescue them. And you're coming with me."

-

"You should have let me bring a sword," said Morgana.

Arthur hissed at her to be quiet. "I swear, you are worse than Merlin to have along for a hunt."

"I'm still very good with a sword," she said, "even though nobody will practice with me anymore. Except Gwen, of course. She can provide quite a vigorous challenge." Morgana blushed when she noticed Arthur gaping at her, but she recovered quickly. She lifted her skirts to step over a fallen log. "With a sword, that is."

Arthur looked puzzled in that way of all boys who spent any amount of time trying to imagine what women got up to when men weren't around. "It doesn't matter," he said quickly, his mind apparently faltering under a failure of imagination. "We're not out here to run anybody through. We're out here to rescue Mer - them. We're here to rescue them."

"Of course," said Morgana. She smiled indulgently. "How much farther?"

Arthur growled and stomped ahead.

He was making enough noise crashing through the forest that Morgana thought if Lancelot were a knight worth his salt he would hear them coming from miles away.

But Arthur slowed down as they came upon a clearing, and he put out his hand to keep Morgana from marching ahead. Sunlight shone on a small, round pond through the trees. Beside the pond three people reclined on the grass: their two wayward servants and their least favorite knight of Camelot. Merlin was telling some story that involved such violent gesticulating it was a wonder he hadn't blackened his own eye, and Gwen and Lancelot were both laughing freely. Gwen's hair was falling down in tendrils around her face and the bottom of her skirt was damp, as though she'd been wading barefoot in the pond.

"Oh," said Morgana softly. "They don't really look like they need to be rescued."

Arthur looked for a moment like he wanted to launch himself into the clearing and challenge Lancelot to a duel anyway, but he only sighed and shook his head. They both turned away at the same time.

About halfway back to the castle, Arthur said, "My lady."

When Morgana turned to look at him, he was offering her his arm. She gave him a skeptical look but accepted it. "My prince."

"It has come to my attention," said Arthur, "that you and I have both found ourselves in the unfortunate position of being both without a servant and without a task with which to occupy ourselves this fine afternoon."

Morgana stopped walking and wrenched her arm free. "Arthur Pendragon, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting-"

Arthur look confused for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. "What? No! By all that is good in this kingdom, _no_, not with _you_."

Morgana tried to be insulted, but she found her relief won out in the end. "Then what are you suggesting?" she asked suspiciously.

Arthur's expression was serious, but there was a mischievous glint in his eye. "Do you remember that day when the Duke of Norwich and his innumerable fiendish children came to Camelot years ago?"

They continued walking. "I do," said Morgana. "Those horrible boys kept putting frogs down my dress."

"They were very horrible."

"You encouraged them," she reminded him. "You said it was the funniest thing you'd ever seen."

"Well," Arthur said with shrug, "it was."

Morgana smacked him on the arm. "Are you asking me about this because you want to spend the afternoon putting frogs down girls' dresses?"

"No," Arthur said with a disappointed sigh. "I would probably get caught. But do you remember what we did to exact our revenge?"

Morgana allowed herself a small smile. "That is hardly behavior befitting a grown man, Arthur, much less the prince of Camelot."

-

It certainly wasn't, but tossing buckets full of wash water and kitchen slop off the castle walls onto unsuspecting passerby was just as much fun as it had been years ago.

It was also a lot easier to get away with now: every time somebody stopped to look the prince himself was there shouting at imaginary trouble-making children while Morgana hid behind the wall and giggled.

-

Hours later, when Morgana was in her chambers dressing for supper, Gwen finally returned. She was tousled and cheerful and bright as sunshine as she presented Morgana with a bouquet of purple and yellow flowers.

When Morgana asked her how she'd spent her day Gwen said, "Oh, nothing special. And you, my lady?"

Morgana breathed in the scent of the flowers and smiled. "Oh," she said, "nothing special."


End file.
